Fluid-fuel-supply apparatus for internal-combustion engines.



' PLUID FUEL SUPPLY APPARATUS FOR INTE'PIAL COMBUSTION ENGINES,-

APPLICATION FI LED JUNE 8.191s.

Patentd Jan. 15,1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET I- c. E. STEERE. FLUID FUEL SUPPLY APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPI ICATION FILED JUNE 8.18.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2-,

Patented Jam 15, 191&

tom, which commui' UNITED OFFICE. 4

CLARENCE IE. S'IEERAE, 0th MILWAT IKEE, WISUONSIN, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF '10 HENRY SGARIBOBDUGH, OF MLl'QIPWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

llncciilcation of Till'JlR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

m Patent Patented Jan. 15, 1918.

To all whom it may cdnca it lmown. i a c: .n of tho of Milwaukee, 5 and Statc of W n. tain now and u Fuel Supply a n. inalbu Ermines; and I. do hcrcby d that the fol owing a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its liiiriinary object to providc a simplc, cconomical and effective apparatus for utilizin' a volatile fluid fuel of low grade for int rnal, combustion cn.-- gines.

A further o provide a low gradc i atomized and mcrcasr such, an extent to cliilninatc carboniaat'ion or sooty dcposi within the engine to a minimum. By actual rcdiu'ition to practice I have asccrtaii d that, in utilizing a low grade fuel distill: t is necessary to heat the air before intro r it into a standard carburetor, and the hcatc up a variable amount non E.

tion is to with tho ts volumc,

upon the temper, I't id air, :i m velocity and thc fitlcl sup Tl atomiacd fuel from the carburc f 1' passed l o novel construction, 5; up of the atomized t1 1 a duo t platcs i:

which gascs pass about the super-heating.

chamber. The superhcating chamber is pro vidcd with a novel vacuum dome offset from the line of travel. of the gas, which dome is employed to luiutralizc the tendency of back pressure or flow of tho gases incidental to closure of tho intakc valve of the engine, this back pressure being, under ordinary conditions, a serious result to contend with. The supcrhcater chamber is also provided with a collector pm] t or drain at its hot has with a trolled discharge to ti supcrheater, in en a vacuum s acc for th lating it Milt, manila" ir will thus pick foal. depcnding' at a uniform tcmpcraturc, the vacuum jacket hcmg cormccted to the walls of the superhcatcr propcr only at the points of coini'uui'iication with its cl'iamber, whcrcby heat ation to the outer jacket by conduction is i hood to a. minim um,

' abovc objt in view thcappan peculiarities of construction and arrangement of parts as heremariasct forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings.

li"igurc 1 represents a diagrammatic view oixan engine and. apparatus exemplifying myim'cntion, parts being broken away and in section to more clearly-illustrate certain dctails of construction, it being understood that olcrncnts embodying certain features of the invention are shown distorted to more clearly illustrate the general scheme;

Fig.2 represents a sectional elevation of a aiuticrlnaitcr embodying features of my invention, the section being indicated by line 2---2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3, a vertical cross'section of the same, tho section being indicated by line 33 of liigflz;

1* lg. l, a detailed sectional view of a sin lo cont-rolling valve mechanism for selective fuel supply, and

Fig. 5, a plan view of an indicator dial employed in connection with the .valve to show to the operator the positions of the "valve for supplying either one of two fuels or its neutral position, whereby both fuels are cut ofl'. I

Rcfcrrin by characters to Fig. l of the drawings, represents an engine of the. internal combustion type, B the exhaust manifold, and (l the intake manifold, which manifold is provided with a branched intake head 1 in the form of an inverted T, and a controlling valve 2 of the butterfly type above the' same, the said controlling valve being coni'iccted to a suitable lever on the steering post (not shown), whereby the fuel supply may be throttled. As shown, the leg 1 of the intake head has attached thereto a can buretcr D, which carburetor may be of any standard type and, in this exemplification of my invention, the same is utilized in connection. with gasolcnc as a fuel, tho sumo being supplicd thereto through a pips 3 from a tanlr or raoervoir 4:. The oppositc branch interrupted sections of the 1" of the intake head communicateswith a superheater' E and'the superheater, in turn, also communicates with a second carbureter F, which'carbureter is utilized to sup 1 for example, kerosene or other volatile uid from a tank'or reservoir 5, the reservoir and carbureter F being connected b a feed pipe 6. The gasolene feed pipe 3 and the kerosene feed pipe 6 are interrupted by a controlling valve G, the plug 7 of which valve is ada ted to establish communication between t e pipe 6 or 3 as may be required, whereby the fuels may be selectively supplied to their respective carbureters. The valve-plug 7 has attached thereto an arm 7 which is coupled by a rod 7 to. correspondin arms 8 and 9 of the valves 10, 11, constituting elements of the carbureters F, D, respectively, the said valves beingof the butterfly type. Air is admitted to .the kerosene carbureter F b an intake pipe 12 and to the carbureter g by an intake pipe 12, the mouths of each of which pipes are in juxtaposition to branches of the exhaust manifold B, whereby the air entering the same will contact with the hot surfaces of said manifold and .be heated to a certain degree when the engine is in operation.

As best shown in Figs. 2'and 3 'of the drawings, the su erheater'E which is interposed between t e kerosene carbureter and the intake manifold O of the engine embodies a housing 13 that is incased in an outer jacket 14 which is offset from the housing walls to form a vacuum space 15. Suspended at four points within the housing is a shell 16 that'is rectangular in crosssection, the inner part of the shell constituting'a su erheating chamber-or retort having an inta e leg 17 and adischarge leg 1 The housing wall 13 and-the shell wall 16 are spaced apart to form a heating space 19 that envelops the superheating chamber, whereby the same is maintained at the desired temperature. The heating space is provided with an intake nozzle 20, which nozzle communicates with one end of a supply pipe 21 that terminates at its opposite end with a goose-neck intake head 21 that projects through an aperture in tlge'exhaust pipe section B of the manifold B, the mouth of the goose-neck being directed toward the flow of the exhaust gases as they pass out of said pi e in the direction of the arrow indicated in F ig. 1. The goose-neck head 21 may be attac ed by a clip 22 to the pipe B, or in anyother suitable manner within the knowledge of the skilled mechanic. The

heating space opposite the intake 20 and offset therefrom is also provided with a discharge nozzle 23, which nozzle is piped to the atmosphere to discharge at any desired point. Hence it will be observed that a certain per cent. of the exhaust or spent gases caused to circulate -sh ell, whereby the. chamber therein is maintainedat the desired temperature andithe served that, between the bottom wall 16 I L from the engine will be directed into the mouth of the goose-neck head 21' and will be about the superheater gases, after performing their function, are discharged to the,atmosphere through the nozzle 23. The vertical legs 17 and 18 of the heating chamber are separated by a defiector plate 24, which terminates at a predetermined distance from the bottom wall 16' of the chamber to form a communicating port between said legs. Thus it will be ob of the chamber and the deflector plate 24, there is formed a pocket which may be termed adrain 25. The drain or pocket is connected to the outer jacket 14 and housing 15 by a neck 25' that is channeled throughout and has attached to its mouth anipple 26 that communicates with the atmosphere and is provided with a suitable check-valve 26, whereby residue oil accumulating in the drain pocket. will be therefrom, while, at the same time, air is prevented from entering the chamber by thecheck-valve. Thus the drain and check-valve mechanism constitutes a trap whereby all sediment and superfluous products extracted from the fuel vapor are disposed of. The deflector wall 24 is provided with a series of transverse ribs 27 that project slightly intothe intake leg of said chamber and the deflector wall terminates with a pair of op sitely extended ribs 27. The atomized uel supply from the kerosene carbureter F is drawn into the intake leg 17 of the superheater through a port 28, which port communicates with the upper end of the intake leg and the fuel gases are discharged from the superheating chamber into the branch 1" of the manifold head 1 caused to freely flow through a port 28 which is positioned at the 5,

upper portion of the discharge leg 18. The discharge leg 18, however, extends above the discharge port 28 to form'a dome 29 and this dome is also interrupted vertically by a depending battle-plate or rib 29.

In-order to provide moisture to the gasified fuel I may, as shown in Fig. 2, attach a valve-controlled cup 30, which cup is in threaded union with the channel that communicates with the head end of the chamber intake leg 17, whereby water may be added to the mixture in desired minute quantities, it being understood that the supply is obtained from a reservoir, not shown, that communicates with the cup through a pipe 30.

Fig. 4 of the drawings illustrates the mechanical construction of the single fuel conthe tapered valve-plug 7 and the said casiigg "through the .gasolene supply is fittedthrough a conveniently position aperture in the floor H of a motor vehicle to which the apparatus is attached, said cas ing bein held in position by a threaded binding-fie the plug through the casing cap and termi: nates at a, point accessible to the operator,

at which point the stem is journaled in a gage bracket 32 that is preferably in skeleton form with a circular index 1 late 32 extending therefrom provided L arbi-.

trary indices to show positions'foraelective fuels and an intermediate po'sit-ionfor cutofl. The index plate is associated witha pointer constituting a'handle 33 that is fast' to the upper end of the'valve-stem. ljhe valve-plu 7. has a shank that projects through t e lower end. of the housing and fast to this shank is a stop-plate 34 which operates in conjunction 'with a pin 34' whereby movement of the valve-plug is limited in both directions. Thus, for exam lo, the valve-plug shown is arranged to ma 0 a quarter turn and, as illustrated in Fig". 5,- when the handle or pointer :33 is alinedowith the index G, the valve-plug is positioned to' establish communication pipe. When the ointer or handle is opposite the word Ofi the valve isclosed to both fuel supplies and when the pointer is in the position:

as indicated in dotted line with the index K, the gasolene suppl is cut off and communication between t e sections ofg the kerosene pipe isestablished, wherebyl this fuel isutilized to supply the "gas medium. Hence it .will be a parent, by again referring to the diagram, that the interrupted fuel supply pipes are broken at approximately right angles to each other, at which points they are tapped into the valve housing in such manner that when the valveplug port is mom of its extreme positions it establishes direct communicatlonto the selective fuel supplies and, when in the intennediate position, both fuel supplies are cut olf. It will be also observed that, when the fuel valve is in the intermediate position referred to, its connection between the two carbureter valves will cause them to.

only partially close. This will have no detrimental effect as, although both the carburetors F and I) may supply a small quantity of fuel mixture to the engine, this quantity will soon be exhalzlsted and the engine will then become dead.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the diagrau'nnatic view Fig. 1, it will be manifest that, when the parts are in the position as shown in this View, assuming that the engine is running, the fuel supplied thereto is from the -kerosene reservoir or tank 5., The exhaust gases which enter the super-heater will maintain ad 31 A stem 32 projects from.

the incased retort; chamber at the desired.

temperature and, as the atomized fuel from the carbureter enters the retort chamber, it

.will be broken, upinto a fine vapor and increased in itsvolat-ility due to heat. Any surplus oil of the fine atomized particles entering the retort will be converted into vapor due to the contact of the mixture with f of the retort by capillary attraction will? gradually settle'into the pocket 25. The

respiratory action of the engine will thus draw the gas through the retort with each.

suction stroke of the engine cylinder .pistons and as the velocity will increase more or less with the speed of the en ine when the respective intake valves close t ere is a tendency of a back pressure.- The velocity of the gases passing through .the retort, ever, will cause a partlal vacuum to be manifested inthe dome 29 and this back pressure due to the valve action will be compensated: for as the vacuum thus developed will serve as 'a receivingpocket to accommodate the back flow, whereby the flowof gas through the system is maintained practical] uniform. After anaccumulation of 011 and waste products has settled in the pocket 25 experience has demonstrated that a small quantity of low-grade fuel will produce the maximum of mileage when the apparatus is usedin connection with a motor vehicle and that, after long runs, there is no appreciable development of sooty deposits within the firing head of the engine cylinder due to the unctions and capacity of the super heater.

It is apparent that, when the engine is to be started, 'gasolene is employed as a preferable fuel because of its greater volatility. Hence, in a. starting operation, the a valve lever 33 is shifted to the osition indicated indotted lines Fig. 1, it ing shifted fromflits central or neutral point. This movement will establish a direct communication between the gasolene fuel tank and its associated carbureter, whereby carbureted .air is introduced into the manifold they will be trapped. and. discharged and the engine is startcd'in the usual manner. By the coupled connection between from one fuel to the other, it will be seenthat the carburetors will be alternately cut,

off from-the manifold. Thus the apparatus iswhat may be termed in shop parlance,-

ifool-proof, and any oneunskilled in the artot mechanics can readily shift from one fuel to the other, whereby the mechanism will cut oil all communication with that fuel which is not used.

While I have shown and described the various mechanical units embodying the ap-- jparatus in detail, it should be understood the crotch of the intake manifold head as a substitute for the independent carbureter valves shown, without departing from the a spirit of my invention, and also I may, in

some instances, employ other heating mediums than that illustrated and described 'in connection with the superheater or retort. For example the retort may be heated electricallyby embedding a resistance coil thereln; or by utilizing the hot water from the engine jacket. 1

I claim: .t 1'. A superheater of the type "described comprising, in combination, a retort ein bodying an intake leg and'adischarge leg, a

deflector wall therebetween': and extending from the top of the retort to near thebottom thereof, an intake communicating with the top of the intake leg, and an outlet communicating with the discharge leg, moistening means discharging into the topgof the intake leg, a heating chamber disposed about the retort and adapted to receive a suitable medium, ands vacuum chamber disposed about the heating chamber substantially as described. v

2. A superheater for treating fluid fuels comprising a retort chamber having an intake and an exhaust leg therein formed by a deflector wall, a chamber disposed about the retort and having an inlet and an outlet connected therewith, the said inletgcommunicating with the exhaust manifold of a gas engine and the said outlet communicating with the atmospherqand means for adding moisture to fuel vapors in their passage through the superheater comprising a pipe communicating with the intake of the retort, and a valve controlled drain leading from therbottom of the retort to carry off excess moisteni-ng fluid.

, 3. A superheater for treating fluid fuels for gas engines comprising a retort chamber ha'ving. a downwardly discharging intake leg and an upwardly dischargln exhaust leg, transverse corrugations exten ing from the walls of the retort, a valve-controlled trap extending from the base of the retort, means for introducing heat about the outer walls 01' the retort, and a vacuum space surrounding the retort'exteriorly of the heating means.

4. A superheatcr for treating fluidfuels for gas engines comprising an inner shell forming a retortchamber having a deflector wallextending vertically thereof whereby the chamber is divided into an intake leg and a discharge leg, a valve-controlled cap lIl communication with the bottom of the chamber, transversely dis osed corrugations extending from the wal act the chamber to form interruptions for the volume of as passing therethrough, a dome above the is-- charge leg of the retort chamber, a housing about the retort'chamber forming a heating space, means for introducing and exhausting a heating medium to the space, and a vacuum space surrounding the heating space. Y f

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee 1n the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

cLA zENcE' E. STEERE. 

